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South Korean president proposes turning DMZ into int'l peace zone

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday proposed transforming the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas into an international peace zone.

"Today ... I would like to propose to the United Nations and all the member states the idea of transforming the DMZ that cuts across the midriff of the Korean Peninsula into an international peace zone," Moon told the UN General Assembly General Debate.

China calls for effective measures to deepen global partnership for development

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), effective measures must be taken to deepen a global partnership for development, said Wang Yi, special representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the UN headquarters on Tuesday.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has opened a new chapter in development cooperation around the world, Wang, also Chinese state councilor and foreign minister, said at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the auspices of the UN General Assembly.

Pakistan PM warns of war as Trump, India’s leader buddy up

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan bluntly warned that war was possible over India’s crackdown in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, while U.S. President Donald Trump buddied up to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in their second meeting in three days.

Trump urged the sides to resolve their differences even as he gushed over Modi, saying he was as popular as American rock legend Elvis Presley.

Khan had a much different description for Modi when talking to reporters Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly in New York: “racist.”

Federal prosecutors join Trump to block tax return subpoena

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors are joining President Donald Trump in asking a federal judge in New York to temporarily block a state court grand jury subpoena seeking his tax returns.

They say in papers filed late Tuesday in Manhattan federal court that Trump has raised “weighty constitutional issues” in trying to stop the subpoena and they want to review them and decide whether to join the fight.

Johnson: ‘Terrifying limbless chickens’ but little Brexit

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Things the beleaguered British prime minister said in his astonishing speech to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday night: “Pink-eyed Terminators from the future.” ″Terrifying limbless chickens.” ″Your fridge will beep for more cheese.”

Things Boris Johnson didn’t address with any substance: Brexit (though he mentioned it in a quip). The British court ruling earlier in the day that said he acted illegally by dissolving Parliament. The take-no-prisoners politics that some say are threatening his premiership and undermining his influence as Britain’s leader.

Trump says impeachment drive is a plus, yet tweets with fury

NEW YORK (AP) — Fifty-eight floors above Manhattan, President Donald Trump watched his legacy change and his political future grow more uncertain.

The president, back in his hometown of New York for the U.N. General Assembly, was taking “executive time” at his Trump Tower penthouse late Tuesday afternoon when Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House was launching a formal impeachment inquiry against him. Pelosi’s move increases the odds that Trump will become the third U.S. president to be impeached.

Isolated and restricted, Iran uses UN gathering for outreach

NEW YORK (AP) — Iran’s delegates to the United Nations are confined to a roughly six-block radius of Manhattan, but that hasn’t limited their reach as they mount a diplomatic blitz at the U.N. General Assembly this week.

President Hassan Rouhani has used his time in New York to meet with the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Japan on the sidelines of the U.N. meeting. He also met with U.S. media leaders and gave a TV interview to Fox News.

New Zealand says climate crisis has no borders

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — 10:40 p.m. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says that the ability of terrorism and climate change to reach across borders proves the need for leaders to respond with global solutions.

Ardern’s remarks Tuesday to the United Nations General Assembly gathering appeared to be an argument against the trend toward isolationism in many countries.

Another fine mess: Brexit-dogged Johnson’s UN trip goes awry

NEW YORK (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson landed in New York this week on a speedy Royal Air Force jet, bringing his vision of a post-Brexit “Global Britain” to the United Nations.

Then he sat on the tarmac for more than an hour. The captain informed passengers that another VIP’s plane was occupying the stand. It was the first hint that Johnson’s trip to the U.N.’s General Assembly might not run entirely smoothly.

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